How to get ahead at work: Say 'yeah'

A new study by MIT Sloan School of Management looked at language used in 95 business meetings to determine which words, if any, increase the likelihood of colleagues and bosses agreeing with a proposal.

What they found: The word "yeah" — not "accomplish," "drive," "results," or other traditional "power words" — is incredibly persuasive.

The researchers also found that the words "start," "meeting," "people," "give," and "discuss" correlate with increased agreement, while "recognition," "speech," "fair," "flat," "middle," "bottom," and "animals" (!) have the reverse effect.

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"Yeah" is definitely the most surprising of the group. Darlene Price, author of Well Said! Presentations and Conversations That Get Results, says, "Words announce to the world how you feel and what you think about important workplace values like respect, commitment, accountability, gratitude, initiative, service, and excellence." So how can a word like "yeah," which hardly exudes accountability and excellence, get you ahead?

Apparently, it has to do with where in the sentence you drop the "yeah":

So "yeah" works best, not as a casual agreement, but as a transition. "Our hypothesis is that framing a suggestion as an agreement with a previous suggestion increases its chances of being accepted," says the study. "That is, if the idea comes across as if it were in line with previous thoughts by others, the suggestion has a higher chance of being accepted. This applies either when attributing the full idea to others, or just the line of thought."

So there you have it: The secret to success is front-loading your sentences with "yeah." Yeah, you've got this.